What I Learned in July 

(I would be interested to hear what you have learned in July)

1. I thought I was good at adapting to change, but I am learning that I have difficulty when I’m not sure the change will end and become permanence.
2. Leadership is no longer about just return on investment. It’s now about investment in the betterment of society….and that is a tall order.
3. For any and all decisions, I must consider the impact of that decision on multiple people in my life.
4. If my old school classmates are looking old, how is it that I cannot possibly look like that myself?
5. I thought I understood racism, but I have learned my understanding is outdated and incomplete.
6. I thought I understood how difficult it is to be disabled but my own personal restrictions (from glaucoma and a neuromuscular injury to my leg) are teaching me how insensitive I have been to the challenges of the disabled.
7. Today for CEO’s, their responsibility goes way beyond shareholder value. It now must include responsibility to their workers, their community, their country….and their planet.
8. Tech Leadership must go beyond technical skills and include emotional intelligence skills: understanding and managing self, understanding and managing others.
9. It’s harder to manage my temper than I want to accept. I have to learn to let go – tell myself it’s small stuff.
10. I am so proud that Pat and I have thrived in a 50-year marriage. 50 years together is worth a big celebration. From two, we have grown to six and counting.
11. “Peace in every moment” is a worthwhile goal.
12. Keeping everything in one notebook is a good way to cope with attention deficit disorder.
13. Complaining is best put off until tomorrow (or mañana).
14. You may be investing in change, but there will always be those around you who will be resistant.
15. (For white folks) Can you think of a specific way you have benefitted from white privilege?
16. A dream come true (sort of): I was picked up by two beautiful women in bikinis on the beach – unfortunately it was after I had fallen and they were 2 emergency room nurses on vacation who saw me fall and rushed to pick me up and be sure I had not hurt myself. Luckily, only my pride was wounded.
17. During the coronavirus crisis, as usual in our society, women are more likely to carry the major responsibility for taking care of the children. It is better than before: In many families, men are stepping up, but it is still more common for the mother to be the one in charge of child care and education. Men: It’s time to step up.
18. When do we get to the point in life, when we have nothing left to prove? I am not there yet.
19. The coronavirus is proof of system theory: we are all connected – what impacts one, impacts all.
20. While society’s problems may seem bigger than ever, I still look to each day and ask myself what is needed and what can I do to help…and how do I find more time to just hang out with my granddaughters on a swing.